7. februar 2012, 12:19 – opdateret 7. februar 2012, 12:32

The government expects its DKK18.7bn ($3.2bn) ’kick-start’ to the economy to create around 21,000 new jobs – but at a cost of DKK870,000 each.

Senior consultant Frederik I. Pedersen of the Economic Council of the Labour movement said as a rule of thumb, one new job is created for every million kroner pumped into the economy, so the planned programme of massive infrastructure investment is ‘reasonable’ in terms of the result. Head of right-leaning think-tank Cepos, Mads Lundby Hansen, called the policy ‘short-sighted’ and ‘disproportionate’ as the 21,000 jobs that are expected to appear this year and next by bringing forward planned public investment are minimal compared to the 2.7m people in the labour force.

“The expenditure will put a permanent drain on public finances if the government doesn’t succeed in reducing public investment again after 2014,” he said. “It would be better to create long-term, permanent jobs by easing the tax burden on workers and companies and making it more attractive for businesses to invest in new technology and jobs, instead of concentrating on short-term employment in the construction sector.”